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Since the late 1980s privacy legislation has been a compliance concern for global HR leaders.  The legislation established standards to protect sensitive, personal information.  Sensitive information includes employee names, addresses, identification/registration numbers, phone and email contact information, number of children, names of spouses, etc.  Privacy legislation seeks to give the control of this sensitive, personal information, about an employee for example, to the employee.  Legislation also typically includes the way in which companies can make legal use of their employee information, for example, sending employee data files back and forth across country borders.

Particularly in Europe, privacy legislation has gone through several iterations of compliance requirements, the latest of which is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), effective May 25, 2018.  Companies must comply with the GDPR, and implement the new rules specifying how the employer must collect, store, and use employee information.  This legislation covers all employers with employees in Europe, even if the employer is located outside of Europe, for example, an American headquartered company with an employee in Germany, for example.

Features of this legislation include:

1. Employers must obtain consent from employees for the access and use of their personal data.
2. Significant fines and penalties result from non-compliance.
3. Employers must document their compliance and establish processes to manage the information.

We recommend the following:

1. A Global Data Protection officer be appointed to manage the Data Protection legislation requirements. Company leadership and management personnel should be made aware of the legislation and the compliance requirements.
2. Review the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) “Preparing for the General Data Protection Legislation-12 steps to take now” document available here: https://ico.org.uk/ This document will help orient you to the EU data privacy directive. Determine what data protection steps you are currently taking.
3. An outline of requirements for each country in which the organization does business or has employees should be produced.
4. The company should identify the employee data and information that is being collected, the organizations or individuals with whom that data is being shared, and what actions are currently being done to that data.
5. Review the US privacy shield website at: https://www.privacyshield.gov/welcome. The EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks were designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission and Swiss Administration to provide companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a mechanism to comply with data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States in support of transatlantic commerce.  However, it is important to remember that if the company to which you send data is not certified, using the Privacy Shield will not be compliant.
6. Establish a compliance program to ensure the company meets all data protection requirements. Ensure the information is communicated to managers. Ensure an audit process is established to review compliance on a regular basis.

If this is a bit overwhelming, we would be happy to take over the process for you and get it up and running.  As a global VPHR, I’ve worked with the architects of corporate compliance since the late 1980s. It is no more difficult to implement than other compliance programs, but it is complex.  Give us a call at (914) 218-3149 if you would like us to help you with the program.

Join me and Sarah Robb O’Hagen, CEO of Flywheel Sports and author of “Extreme You” at the 5th annual Association for Corporate Growth Women of Leadership Summit in New York City on January 18. Three topics in particular address key issues we’ve all been talking about:

Women at the Helm: The Force of Women Leaders in the Start-up World

Effecting Cultural Change: Strategies for Fostering Leadership & Retaining and Engaging Talent

There an App for That? Harnessing Technology to Optimize Your Business 

Join me for lunch on the 18th and let’s start a conversation, share information, and meet some extraordinary women leaders!

To register: https://www.acg.org/nyc/events/5th-annual-women-leadership-summit/program-details

Thanks to Scott Hudson for at terrific tour of MasterCard headquarters…by scooter!  I teach a MS class at Manhattanville College on Saturday and Sunday on Managing Corporate Processes.  I wrote the class to teach participants how to incorporate global corporate strategy into functional disciplines (HR, finance, operations, marketing, etc.).  Specifically we use typical organizational tools like Porter’s Five Forces, PESTLE, Global 20, SWOT, HR Diagnostic, and Supply Chain effectiveness to help design the infrastructure to connect strategy and tactics.  We can then establish management tools to ensure the “connections” deliver results.

What struck me most about MasterCard was the focus on work-life balance.  It was Saturday afternoon, the offices are beautiful, pretty, basketball, skeeball, swing chairs, waterfalls, great food, and abundant sunlight.  Yet, despite the amenities, there was no one around.  Scott said the company believes in maintaining a good “work-life” balance, and as such, working on the weekend is discouraged.  MasterCard is an impressive business.  Learn more about MasterCard at https://www.mastercard.us/en-us.html

Think this looks dangerous? It’s not half as dangerous as not thinking through the legal, financial, tax and HR implications of expanding overseas. As of January 1, 2018 all countries have changes that affect the management of people, payroll taxes, statutory benefits, incorporation, and labor law. Even using an employer of record will not shield you from many of these changes. Your business now faces new challenges, so don’t get bitten by unknown problems. If you want to talk about your 2018 global strategy with experts on corporate globalization, give us a call at 01 (914) 218-3149. We’re used to wrangling the tough problems.

What can top Dr. Alison Felix presentation on Denver, the West and the World in 2018?  Only some of the biggest and most complete dinosaur fossils ever found!  The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has some of the best exhibitions on dinosaurs, geology, mummies, and artifacts.  The skull, shown above, is a cast of the famous “Sue” T Rex fossil.  The fully intact dinosaur fossil shows how the animal looked in the nature environment.  The red dinosaur is from the Denver Art Museum and is part of their latest exhibition on animals in art.  We are looking forward to our next Denver outing at Wings Over the Rockies on November 9 from 8:00 AM-10:00 AM.  We will be flying in the simulators and talking about increasing financial performance in private equity companies.  To register…   http://bit.ly/2wCQZFz     We love to support Denver museums!

Terrific program last night at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Scott Kelly interviewed by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Scott, spent one year on the space station. The most interesting part, to me, was he was an indifferent student, destined for trade school, according to his father, until he was 18, struggling with ADHD. Reading, Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff”, changed his direction.

His most frightening moment came when NASA said it was critical his daughter speak with him on the secure link. For the 20 minutes it took to get connected he was very worried. When they were finally connected, she said she was just lonely. Drinking “recycled” water from the sewage processing device on board was an acquired taste. Working with people from other countries on which you depended, was the best part of the experience. Scott’s Russian colleague suggested instead of trying to grow tomatoes, they grow potatoes because you could live on potatoes and make them into vodka.

Highly recommend, “Endurance” by Scott Kelly, and “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson!

Join the Denver based IERG global business leaders as we listen to Dr. Alison Felix, Chair, Denver Federal Reserve give her preliminary thoughts on Denver, the West, and the World in 2018.  Dr. Felix is one of the Federal Reserve systems top economic researchers and administrators.  Her 2017 presentation was a huge hit with the IERG members, and we welcome her back for 2018.  

This event is open to the public.

Date:  October 11@6:30-8:00 PM MDT

Location: Mountain States Employers Council, 1799 Pennsylvania Street Denver, CO 80203

To Register: http://bit.ly/2xqzE06

HRCI/SHRM SCP Certified for 1.0 Credits

On September 14, Executive HR leaders in Denver shared best practices and the future of global training at the IERG meeting. Daya Haddock, Host, and President of TIA, Inc mentioned her observations from the recent Oracle Worldwide Meeting and the emphasis on micro learning. All participants agreed with the micro learning concept.  Doug Nieb, EVP HR RES, pointed out the ability to create both short and long term strategy and the ability to modify that strategy in an ongoing basis was critical. Comfort with dealing in ambiguity in a fast paced environment is a growing skill need. Related to that is the ability to lead complex change in an organization and the ability to intentionally apply System 2 thinking and overcome System 1 errors. Comments from Shelie Gustafson CHRO CH2M, and Traci Kellner EVP Human Capital Beeline, noted the use of the 10/20/70 classroom/share/doing structure of training. The use of executive coaches was mentioned by several leaders as useful.  Janet Walsh, Chair, IERG mentioned using Coursera/EdX and MOOCS programs were useful when the experiences were curated, rather than randomly selected. She noted the need to focus on validation and predictive analytics when selecting educational content.  A merry time was had by all and we are looking forward to the next IERG meeting with Dr. Alison Felix, the Chair of the Denver Federal Reserve Branch, who will speak on October 11 on Denver, the world, and the west.

Global Workforce Risks and Challenges

Birchtree Global is pleased to present Dr. Walsh’s presentation and research on “Global Workforce Risks and Challenges”.  This presentation documents the information, personnel, and security risks faced by today’s globalizing businesses.  This research was presented as the keynote presentation at the 2017 Global RISC conference.  Dr. Walsh describes the specific risk issues and offers suggestions for both strategic and operations management to reducing these risks.  This program is also certified for 1.0 SHRM-CP and HRCI recertification credits for HR professionals.

The program is free to Birchtree Global clients and “not-yet-clients”.

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1306457692874121987

I’m just back from presenting to the leaders at the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE).  This is the preeminent group for studying the economic, financial, foreign direct investment, and investment infrastructure in Cuba.  Since Cuba has a unique economy, it provides multiple opportunities to study the affect of policy actions, business, market entry, and comparative economics.  Papers presented to this group must be peer reviewed to be eligible to present.  Presenters provide their papers and presentations in advance to an expert panel of “discussants” and the discussants review and comment on the research in front of the audience.  In my case, the discussants included senior executives from the World Bank and the US Department of Commerce.  “Success Characteristics of Foreign Direct Investment” was very well received with only one suggestions, which was to change the paper’s title from foreign direct investment to market entry, which I thought was a good suggestion.  By changing the title, I can also add multiple versions, talking about human capital, banking, taxation, and so forth.

For anyone interested in doing business in Cuba, this is a not-to-be-missed conference!  Check out the conference at their website: www.ascecuba.org.  I highly recommend it!